RI shuttlers to play charity matches in Japan

JAKARTA: Indonesian shuttlers Taufik Hidayat, Hendra Setiawan, Flandy Limpele and Nova Widianto will play in a series of exhibition matches in Japan as part of charity work for the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami disasters.

“We were invited to play in six cities around Japan for a week. The exhibitions will raise donations for the Japanese tsunami victims,” veteran ace Taufik Hidayat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. The four shuttlers departed for Japan late on Wednesday.

World number six men’s doubles specialist Hendra will not be playing the exhibition with his partner, Markis Kido, who is still recuperating from typhoid. The illness caused their last-minute withdrawal at the recent BWF World Championships in London.

In April, the 2005 world champion Taufik and the 2011 world champion runner-up Lee Chong Wei engaged in another charity exhibition match for Japanese tsunami victims in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.